♦ Scientists in India have developed a humidity-responsive, brain-like sensor inspired by frogs that could significantly reduce energy consumption in conventional electronic systems. The innovative neuromorphic sensor, created by researchers at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), mimics how biological systems sense, process, and store information simultaneously – something traditional electronics struggle to achieve efficiently.
♦ Neuromorphic electronics, which emulate the functioning of the human brain, are increasingly seen as a solution to the rising energy demands of modern computing, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence and edge computing. However, most existing systems rely on separate components for sensing and processing, leading to higher energy use and data transfer delays.
♦ The newly developed device overcomes this limitation by integrating sensing, memory, and processing into a single platform. It is based on one-dimensional supramolecular nanofibers and responds to changes in environmental humidity -much like certain amphibians.
Posted Date: April 9, 2026Science & Technology
♦ The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy on 29 April 2026 successfully carried out the maiden salvo launch of the Naval Anti-Ship Missile–Short Range (NASM-SR) from a naval helicopter off the coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal. During the trial, two missiles were launched in quick succession from the same helicopter, marking the first-ever salvo launch of an advanced air-launched anti-ship missile system in India.
♦ The missile system also demonstrated a precise waterline hit capability, a critical feature designed to maximise damage to enemy vessels.
♦ Developed indigenously, the NASM-SR is equipped with a solid propulsion booster and long-burn sustainer, along with advanced subsystems including a state-of-the-art seeker, integrated avionics, fibre-optic gyroscope-based inertial navigation system, radio altimeter, and a high-bandwidth two-way data link. The system also incorporates advanced control and guidance algorithms and jet-vane control technology.
Posted Date: April 29, 2026♦ Two key armoured platforms designed and developed by the DRDO were unveiled. The Advanced Armoured Platforms (Tracked and Wheeled), designed and developed by Vehicles Research & Development Establishment, were unveiled by Secretary, Department of Defence (R&D) and Chairman, DRDO, Samir V Kamat at the premises of the DRDO's laboratory in Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra.
♦ Both the platforms have been integrated with indigenously designed and developed 30 mm crewless turret, with advanced features to meet the mobility, fire power and protection requirements.
♦ The 30 mm crewless turret along with the 7.62 mm PKT gun is configured to launch Anti-Tank Guided Missiles as well. The base design has the capabilities to be configured for multiple roles. The indigenous content is to the tune of 65 percent with plans to increase it to 90 percent.
Posted Date: April 27, 2026♦ Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) has achieved a significant milestone in indigenous defence manufacturing with the delivery of Production-Grade Wire Guided Heavy Weight Torpedo (WGHWT) to the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) at its Visakhapatnam unit. BDL collaborated with NSTL to realise India's first indigenously produced, production-grade heavyweight torpedo. Delivered in both practice and combat configurations, the torpedo marks a major step forward in India's pursuit of self-reliance in advanced naval weapon systems under the Government of India's Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
♦ The system incorporates state-of-the-art homing and propulsion technologies, along with sophisticated search, attack, and re-attack capabilities that significantly enhance the operational readiness and striking power of the Indian Navy.
♦ The torpedo is based on Varunastra, an indigenously developed heavyweight underwater weapon designed by the Visakhapatnam-based NSTL. Weighing approximately 1.25 tonnes and capable of carrying a 250 kg warhead, Varunastra successfully completed user evaluation trials and met the Indian Navy's Qualifying Requirements before being inducted into service around 2015.
Posted Date: April 25, 2026♦ The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur announced the launch of the Vikram Sodhi Centre of Excellence for AI-Enabled Geological and Mining Systems. Conceived as an interdisciplinary research hub, the centre has been established with a funding commitment of Rs.15 crore over five years from Vikram Sodhi, Vice Chairman of Mineros SA and Managing Partner at Sun Valley Investments.
♦ The initiative aims to develop artificial intelligence-driven solutions tailored specifically to Indian geological conditions, addressing long-standing gaps in the sector’s digital transformation.
Posted Date: April 18, 2026Science and Technology Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said that the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) is developing an AI-based platform, SARAL AI, to convert complex research publications into simplified social media content in 18 Indian languages. Reviewing the progress and future roadmap of the ANRF in New Delhi, the Minister emphasised mission-mode research and greater societal impact of scientific innovations.
Posted Date: April 13, 2026♦ The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted the second integrated air drop test (IADT-02) for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on 10 April 2026. The system is essential to ensure safe recovery of the crew module — the capsule in which astronauts sit during a human flight. After the module’s release, a parachute system, comprising 10 parachutes, was deployed, helping the capsule decelerate to a safe splashdown speed.
♦ The IADT-02 follows the successful completion of the first IADT, which took place on August 24, 2025, at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. In the first IADT, a 4.8-tonne dummy crew module was dropped from a height of three km by a Chinook helicopter. Air drop tests recreate the last leg of a spacecraft’s return to the Earth.
♦ An aircraft or helicopter drops the spacecraft from a height to test various systems under different scenarios. These are the deployment of the parachute system in case the mission is aborted mid-flight, system performance when one parachute fails to open, and the spacecraft’s orientation and safety during splashdown.
♦ India’s first human spaceflight will be launched from Sriharikota in 2027.
Posted Date: April 10, 2026♦ A Gujarat-based deep-tech drone company has supplied “hundreds of kamikaze (suicide or self-destruct) drones” to the Indian Army under a Rs.10 crore contract awarded by the Defence Ministry.
♦ The contract with Surat-based InsideFPV was signed in December 2025.
♦ The exact number of drones supplied to the Army’s Northern Command has not been disclosed due to security considerations.
Features..
♦ Autonomous precision with real-time targeting
♦ Top speed of 120 km/h
♦ AI-powered guidance for accurate strikes
♦ Compact design for frontline deployment
♦ Maximum altitude of 2.5 km (AGL)
♦ Operational range of 10 km
♦ Payload capacity of 2.5 kg
Posted Date: April 7, 2026♦ The four astronauts of NASA’s Artemis II mission flew deeper into space on 6 March 2026 than any humans before them, as they cruised through a rare flyby of the shadowed far side of the moon that revealed a lunar surface under cosmic bombardment.
♦ The six-hour survey of the normally hidden hemisphere of Earth’s only natural satellite was highlighted by the astronauts’ direct visual observations of “impact flashes” from meteors pelting the darkened and heavily cratered lunar surface.
♦ NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch will reach the mission’s maximum distance from Earth of roughly 252,757 miles, 4,102 miles beyond the record held by the Apollo 13 crew for 56 years.
♦ The six-hour flyby, which swooped to within 4,070 miles of the lunar surface, came six days into a spaceflight marking the world’s first voyage of astronauts to the vicinity of the moon since NASA’s Cold War-era Apollo missions more than half a century ago.
♦ Six of those missions landed two-man teams on the moon between 1969 and 1972 – the only 12 humans ever to walk on its surface.
Posted Date: April 6, 2026♦ India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh commissioned INS Taragiri into the Indian Navy at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam on 3 April 2026.
♦ This is the fourth potent platform of the Project 17A class.
♦ Designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, the 6,670-tonne frigate is equipped for multi-role operations and incorporates advanced stealth features to reduce radar signature.
♦ The ship has over 75% indigenous content, reflecting growing domestic capability in warship construction with support from MSMEs.
♦ INS Taragiri marks an advancement over earlier frigate designs, with a reduced radar cross-section and improved stealth features.
♦ It is powered by a combined diesel or gas propulsion system and supported by an integrated platform management system, enabling efficient operations across varied mission profiles.
Posted Date: April 3, 2026♦ India’s defence exports touched an all-time high of Rs.38,424 crore in the financial year 2025–26, the Ministry of Defence said on 2 April 2026.
♦ This marking a sharp increase of Rs,14,802 crore (62.66%) over the previous fiscal’s figure of Rs.23,622 crore.
♦ The Defence Ministry said that in this achievement, the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and the private sector have contributed 54.84 and 45.16% respectively.
♦ DPSUs’ exports surged by 151% compared to the previous year, with private firms showcasing their robust presence by recording an increase of 14%.
Posted Date: April 2, 2026♦ Four astronauts blasted off from Florida on NASA’s Artemis II mission, a high-stakes voyage around the moon that marks the United States’ boldest step yet toward returning humans to the lunar surface later this decade in a race with China.
♦ NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, topped with its Orion crew capsule at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying its debut crew – three U.S. astronauts and a Canadian astronaut – into Earth orbit.
♦ The 32-story-tall space vehicle thundered into clear skies trailing a towering column of thick, white vapor.
♦ If the mission proceeds as planned, the crew consisting of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, plus Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will fly around the moon and back in their nearly 10-day expedition, putting the spacecraft through its paces while venturing deeper into space than humans have ever gone.
♦ The mission is the debut crewed test flight in the Artemis program, successor to NASA’s Cold War-era Apollo project, and the world’s first to send astronauts in the vicinity of the moon, out of Earth’s orbit, in 53 years.
♦ NASA is targeting 2028 for Artemis IV, a first-ever landing of astronauts on the moon’s South Pole, seeking to beat China’s planned crewed mission to the same lunar region as early as 2030.
♦ The last time astronauts walked on the moon – a feat so far achieved only by the United States – was the final Apollo mission in 1972.
Posted Date: April 2, 2026